Poker Industry Given Hope by Obama's Iowa Caucus Win

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who is a poker player, won the Iowa State caucus last Thursday, taking a huge step towards vying to become the 44th President of the United States, and giving the poker industry hope that prohibitions on online poker will be lifted.

Obama, 46, who is a first-term Senator from Illinois, took part in regular poker games while a member of the Illinois State Senate, and according to fellow legislators he is known for his poker face and smart play leading to the chips coming his way.

"When he was a young state politician in Illinois, Barack Obama played his cards right," iGamingBusiness quoted Toby Harnden, a journalist for the UK's Telegraph newspaper.

"He had the stone face", said Senator Terry Links, who hosted weekly poker games at his home. "He didn't stay in hands if he didn't think he had a chance of winning."

A huge turn out of Democrat voters gave Obama 38 percent of the vote last night while his closest rival, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, finished with 29.8 percent. New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the front-runner going into yesterday's vote, finished third with 29.5 percent of the vote.

iGamingBusiness positioned how Obama's victory was made even more significant as he is seeking to become the first black President in the history of the United States history and 95 per cent of Iowa voters are white.

Nearly twice as many people voted in Iowa compared to four years ago, a fact that Obama's advisers say shows an appetite for change.

The campaigning will now move to the smaller New England state of New Hampshire, where tomorrow voters will cast their vote to choose their candidate for President.

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